The Controversy that Marked the Education Minister Lucy Molinar’s Departure Was All About the Laptops.
Education Minister Lucy Molinar resigned on August 12 amid controversy over the purchase of laptops for teachers. The Attorney General’s Office is investigating the purchase of 54,000 laptops for teachers for $28.4 million, while 531,250 computers for students remain unawarded.
The controversy that triggered the sudden resignation of Panama’s Minister of Education, Lucy Molinar, on August 12, 2026, originated from an expensive and administrative technological strategy to distribute laptops to students and teachers. The friction began and ultimately escalated due to the following factors.
1. The Shift to an Opaque Direct Agreement (2024).
The roots of the conflict date back to the start of her second term in 2024. Deputies and critics, such as Betserai Richards, denounced from day one that the Ministry of Education (Meduca) attempted to purchase a massive batch of unbranded laptops for over $241 million through a direct agreement involving a US-based non-governmental organization (NGO). This bypass of standard public bidding rules immediately drew heavy public and political scrutiny regarding transparency.
2. Repeatedly Failed Mega-Tenders for Students.
Following the initial blowback, the strategy was shifted toward public bidding processes. However, the procurement structure faced significant administrative hurdles. A massive $268.5 million public tender aimed at purchasing 531,250 laptops for public school students was declared void (desierta) twice by verification commissions, with the second failure occurring in July 2026. The inability to successfully execute a contract of this magnitude heightened public frustration.
3. Cries of “Laptops vs. Crumbling Schools”.
The controversy intensified in the National Assembly as lawmakers fiercely criticized the allocation of massive budgets toward technology while public educational infrastructure was in disrepair. Lawmakers argued that spending hundreds of millions on computers was a misplaced priority when countless schools lacked basic maintenance, structural safety, or proper student nutrition plans.
4. The $28.4 Million Teacher Contract.
While the student laptop tenders repeatedly collapsed, Meduca did manage to award a $28.4 million contract to purchase 54,000 laptops for teachers. The laptops, under the brand Liby (model N18-14C), became the immediate target of political “noise” and intense media questioning regarding the selection methodology, the contracting company, and the transparency of the payouts.
The Climax and Departure.
Citing that the relentless “noise” surrounding the computer contracts was distracting from education policies, Molinar officially presented her resignation to President José Raúl Mulino. In an attempt to defend her management’s transparency, Molinar personally sent a formal letter to the Public Ministry requesting a full investigation into the state contracts. Consequently, the ‘Procuraduría General de la Nación’ and the Comptroller General opened preliminary criminal investigations and audits to dissect the administrative files, contractor dignitaries, and disbursements related to the laptop acquisitions.
The purchase of laptops for teachers and students, one of the projects that Lucy Molinar defended as a tool to close the digital divide in public schools, ended up becoming the center of a controversy that preceded her departure from the Ministry of Education (Meduca). “I prefer to step aside so that everything can be properly investigated and clarified, and make way for a new administration,” she said.
